


Song of the Sea

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Canon, Selkie Davos Seaworth, Selkies, Siege of Storm's End
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:20:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27197060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: Davos's unique skills have made him an excellent smuggler, but when he loses his selkie skin inside Storm's End, he must find it before it's too late.
Relationships: Stannis Baratheon/Davos Seaworth
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37
Collections: Fic In A Box





	Song of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greygerbil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greygerbil/gifts).



Davos glided confidently through the water, the rope clenched in his teeth. If any of the men on the Redwyne ships were looking, they would see a bit of flotsam floating in the dark water, nothing that was worth even a second look. It wasn't a terribly comfortable way to make his living; it definitely felt unnatural to pull a collection of barrels with his mouth. It made him wish dearly for opposable thumbs. 

No matter. He would have those back soon. 

He found the cave easily and dove under the rusty portcullis that was surely there to keep intruders out, the waterproofed barrels bobbing along behind him. Luckily, it seemed there were none of Davos's kind among Storm's End's enemies. The designers of the castle had, apparently, not considered one such as him.

Upon reaching the shore, he hauled himself out of the water and shed his skin. Shivering in the chill, he folded his seal skin and opened the barrel in which he'd hidden a towel and some clothes. He dried himself as best he could, though the cold was almost unbearable on his thin human skin. The dry clothes were welcome when he pulled them on. They helped to combat the cold some, though his damp hair still hung over his shoulders. At least he now looked halfway normal, though he was considerably more wet than he would have been if he had rowed in. He unstrapped the pole from the makeshift raft and laid it on the shore. It was a clumsy illusion, but he supposed most people would not _expect_ a selkie. 

He wrung his hair out once more. He would have to find a place to hide his skin. There were enough crevices in the cavern to suit; when he had his payment, he would stow the coin in the barrel with his clothes and be gone back out to sea. He had done that countless times in the past, and no one had ever wondered how he was such a good smuggler. 

He climbed a steep set of stairs into the main keep, coming around a corner face-to-face with a pair of sleepy guards.

They jerked awake once they saw him. 

"Who are you?" one demanded, half-heartedly pointing his spear at Davos.

"A smuggler come to relieve your hunger." He spoke with confidence, knowing that to project an air that one knew what one was doing was half the battle in getting men's trust.

The men exchanged glances. "You've got food?" 

"Below. I suppose I'll want to speak with your commander."

They exchanged glances again. "You wake Lord Stannis," the first one said. The second one grimaced. "He'll be happy if there's food."

"He won't be happy about anything," the second guard muttered, but he went off down the corridor. 

Davos waited patiently, knowing that if he explained himself in further detail, he would only have to explain himself again to the lord. The lord who apparently wasn't happy about anything.

When Davos saw the lord in question, he could almost believe it. He had a grim expression on his face, though Davos didn't think anyone could be happy after being starved for months. Davos wanted to sit him right down with some saltfish and onions, despite his earlier avowal that he would be out of there as soon as possible. There was something about the tiredness in the young lord's blue eyes that made him want to stay, at least until he assured himself he was all right. He certainly didn't seem to have the love of his men.

Davos inclined his head. "My lord." 

"Explain yourself." It was the bluntest response he could have given, but betraying exhaustion in its artlessness. Davos felt another surge of inexplicable fondness. 

"I have brought food for your men, my lord. I'm a smuggler by trade. Avoiding those ships out there was no problem for a man of my talents." 

"A smuggler," the lord said tonelessly.

"Yes, my lord. It's how I could get past the blockade. I've got saltfish and onions. I heard you were starving and I could not go about my business without helping." 

"I suppose there is honor in that. Come. Show me your cargo."

Davos felt strangely at the center of attention as he led Lord Stannis into the bowels of his own castle. The lord was watching him, and Davos felt almost as though he could see right through him. _He can't know what you are_ , he reminded himself. _Don't be a fool._

"You rowed in on this?" 

Davos had not expected Stannis's scrutiny to be on his makeshift raft; he'd expected a hungry man not to care how the food had gotten there. The other men seemed not to have given a second thought to Davos's means of entry; they were already starting to open the barrels and unpack the food. 

"Yes, my lord."

"And how did you get through the portcullis?" 

"I swam under it and pulled the barrels after me."

"Your clothes are remarkably dry."

Davos grinned. "I wasn't wearing them." He had always believed in being truthful. "They were in that barrel." He pointed to the empty one. "No point in getting them wet." 

"It is a cold night to wear nothing." Stannis's eyes never left Davos; he felt them boring into him. 

"It was not for long. I am well used to it."

Stannis gave him a long, assessing look before going to assist his men in unpacking the barrels. 

Davos considered going for his skin and changing in the shadows to slip away. Stannis asked far too many questions, but perhaps against his better judgement, he was too intrigued by Stannis. The lordling was now helping his men unload the barrels and giving orders for the distribution of the food. Davos lingered, watching, knowing that every second he remained was less time for him to escape if he needed to. 

He knew well enough about needing to escape quickly. What had happened to his mother was never far from his mind. 

At least his skin was well hidden. It couldn't hurt to linger a little longer. 

**

Stannis paced the shore in the cavern, not knowing why he was here rather than in bed. Even the smuggler Davos was in bed, having been shown to a guest chamber by Stannis himself, who was still trying to figure out what to do with him.

Perhaps that was what brought him here so late at night. He'd decreed every man in the garrison could have half an onion, and he wasn't used to having a full belly. He busied himself straightening the barrels, reassuring himself that no food had been left behind. Davos was an unusual man to be sure. He'd claimed this ridiculous, barely seaworthy contraption was easier to control and avoid detection with than a proper boat. Stannis didn't believe that for a second, but he didn't know what Davos could possibly be hiding. He was open about being a smuggler. Surely there could be nothing worse than that? He certainly must be a skilled one for he still had both ears and all ten fingers. 

He was remarkably honorable for a smuggler, all things aside. Stannis had half a mind to take him into his service. He would have to think of a suitable proposal; there would have to be an acknowledgement of his years of smuggling along with the reward. 

One he'd assured himself that the barrels were empty, he turned his feet toward the stairs. Perhaps he was ready for bed now. Even if he couldn't sleep, he could at least rest his eyes or read. 

As he crossed the cavern, something caught his eye sticking out from beyond a rock. At first he thought it was cloak, but it was a pelt. A seal's pelt, and a fine one, too. He unfolded it and held it out before him. Seals were a common sight on the rocks around Storm's End; Stannis had seen them all his life. He knew to kill one was bad luck. What stormlands-born man wouldn't?

He folded the pelt over his arm. It was too fine to leave down here in the damp, wherever it had come from. He would keep it until he found who it belonged to.

**

Davos had no intention of truly leaving. He had a feeling that if Lord Stannis knew he was down in the cavern so early in the morning, he might have thought Davos planned to sneak off in the night like the common smuggler he was. But it was nothing of the sort. Davos merely wanted his skin back. 

But it wasn't there.

He fought to stay calm as went from rock to rock. Perhaps he'd forgotten which was the right rock? There were many along the shore, but he was sure he'd marked the right one. All his life, he'd been surer of nothing but where he'd left his skin when he had to abandon it. It was gone. 

Despite his certainty, Davos made the rounds of the cave once, twice, and three times more, trying to dispel the rising panic. Someone had taken his skin. There was no greater nightmare for a selkie. If his mother had taught him anything, it was _don't let anyone take your skin._

His heart was racing, his breaths coming tight.

 _Calm down_ , he told himself, trying to fight off panic. _You can find it. You weren't planning on leaving anytime soon._

That was what he would have to do. 

Despite that, he could not totally dismiss the anxiety from his mind. 

He managed to push it aside enough that he could go back to bed, though he did not go to sleep. He would search every room in the castle he had to, every man's quarters, if he could figure out how to go about it. 

This was only partially reassuring, and his anxiety must have shown on his face when he met Stannis the next morning.

"You've nothing to fear from me," he told Davos. "I have no intentions to send you to the Wall or take off your head." 

That hadn't been what Davos was worried about, but he couldn't help but smile at Stannis's earnestness. It was charming. 

"I've given some thought to taking you into my service," Stannis said. "There will have to be some acknowledgement of your smuggling."

"What did you have in mind?" Despite his worry about his skin, Davos found himself intrigued.

"Your fingertips." 

"My fingertips?"

"Aye. I have no bloodlust. I don't want to mutilate you. If you lose the fingertips of your left hand, you shouldn't be much impaired but it would still be a sacrifice. Men will still know you are a reformed smuggler." He emphasized the word _reformed_. Davos was surprised by how much he liked to hear it. He'd never thought of himself as doing anything particularly _wrong_ by smuggling. He'd been taken in by Roro Uhoris after his mother had died, and since then, he'd known nothing else. His unique talents, as Roro had put it had made the work easy and he'd liked that he was useful. 

Could he be useful to Stannis? 

The blue eyes were nothing but genuine as he waited for Davos's answer. 

He certainly could go nowhere without his skin, and having an official role might make it easier to find it. And then… well, he could escape easily if he had to.

"What would I do as your servant? I know little more than smuggling."

"Not my servant," Stannis said firmly. "Lands and a knighthood." 

Davos stared blankly at him. 

"You are a man of integrity," Stannis went on. "You deserve the honor."

Davos did not know how to respond to this. His first instinct was to refuse; he had never lived a settled life, partly due to what he was, partly due to his life as a smuggler. It hadn't leant itself to settling down. 

Was that such a bad idea though?

He relaxed. "What sorts of things might I do, in your service, then?" 

Stannis's solemn face lightened some. "I can always use a good sailor." 

It surely had not been met as flirtatious, though Stannis's blue eyes burned with a determined intensity that _was_ attractive. 

"Well, if I flatter myself, I am that." He smiled, and while Stannis did not, his eyes softened.

**

"I hope I have given him a just reward." Stannis stood in his solar, watching the Redwyne ships. Their presence still taunted him, but he had food, his men had food, and Renly had food. That was a satisfying triumph. In the few days they'd had the saltfish and onions, he had perked up considerably and was now building with blocks on the rug by the fire. Before the onions, he had lately been spending much of his days listlessly, clinging to Stannis or to Maester Cressen, not playing and speaking but little. Stannis had worried for his life when Davos had appeared, oddly wet and dripping, in that cavern.

"I believe you have, Stannis." Maester Cressen, who had taken to his bed before the food had come, was now sitting up at the desk, making notes in the ledger. "I am sure he will be grateful to you." 

"He is that, I think." Stannis leaned back against the window. He got the sense that there was something that still worried Davos and he found he wanted to do anything he could to alleviate that. He knew Davos felt the price was fair; he could see it in his eyes. It was something else. It frustrated Stannis, for he regarded Davos as his man. The other men at Storm's End were Robert's, through and through, and did not want Stannis's help, but Davos was different. If he would let Stannis help him.

He sighed, letting the sound of rain on the windowpanes behind his head calm him, the crackling of the fire, the scratch of Maester Cressen's quill, the clack of Renly's blocks. 

The door opened. "My lord?" 

Stannis opened his eyes, feeling himself brighten to see who was there. "Davos."

Davos's eyes scanned the room. "I wondered, my lord, if there is any task I might perform for you."

Stannis sighed. "Not now, Davos. There is naught to do but wait." 

"I am only too happy to serve."

"I know. But for now…" He waved a hand. "Do as you please. We are in a period of inertia. Your food has kept us alive but has not enabled us to do anything else but prolong our deaths a bit. Hopefully my brother prevails before the food runs out."

Renly was staring up with wide, worried eyes, and Stannis cursed himself. He was supposed to have spelled a few of those words out. Maester Cressen always did that when discussing upsetting subjects in front of Renly. 

"Are we going to die?" Renly asked. 

"Not for a long while yet. Tell me what you are building." Davos sat on the rug. "If I cannot help your brother, I put myself in your service. Give me a task and I will perform it." 

Stannis was about to tell him he did not have to, but Renly began chatting excitedly about the castle he was making. 

It was sort of comforting, in a way, to see Davos being so kind to Renly. He was often underfoot and ignored by the men, and hunger had made them all more irritable. Stannis tried to have patience with him, but he knew Renly was often lonely. 

He watched them for a while, relaxation washing over him. His eyes fluttered shut. Stannis had slept poorly since the siege had started, but he found himself drifting off to sleep.

**

There were more days like this. Stannis had been right that the siege afforded little work to do, and Davos spent much of his time with Stannis and his brother. Renly was a delightful boy, and Davos had always liked children. Renly begged for sea stories, and while Stannis would always admonish Renly to leave Davos alone, he seemed to enjoy listening as well. And when Stannis at last decided Davos really ought to rest, he would read to them both. 

And if Davos settled close to him, as Renly did, it was only he could see the page. 

Stannis didn't seem to mind, anyway. 

The rest of the time, Davos searched for his skin. He'd been through as many areas of the castle as he'd dared and had not found it yet. He was increasingly worried, though he'd had no indication from any of the men that they knew what he was and what power they had over him. Surely if the person who had his skin had malicious intent, they would have acted on it? He could relax around Stannis, but he remained wary of the other men. 

Besides, if he stayed close to Stannis, that would probably make a man who might pressure him back off. He couldn't imagine being propositioned in Stannis's presence. 

Indeed, all the men seemed grateful, taking any opportunity to thank him for what he'd done. Davos felt a little guilty for linger among them, eating the food he'd brought. He would have volunteered to slip out for more but he'd have to find his skin first. Which brought him back to the first problem. 

The other thing Stannis did beside read to Renly and Davos, and work on paperwork while pretending not to listen to Davos tell Renly stories, was walk the walls. He did it precisely twice a day, unerringly, and Davos went with him. 

"Is something bothering you, Davos?" 

"No," Davos said, "nothing at all." In fact, his walks with Stannis were one of the times he felt most calm; worry about his skin coupled with anxiety at being cooped up in the castle did battle to occupy his mind, but being on the walls and being able to smell the sea calmed him. He could tell Stannis had the same love for the sea, even if his connection to it was less intimate. Davos had no desire to leave Stannis; the opposite was true, in fact. He wanted to spend what time he could with him. 

Stannis's lips pressed together. Clearly he didn't believe Davos. "When we are free of this…" He waved a hand at the blockade of ships as though he had no words to express what an injustice it was. "You will be able to travel to your lands." 

"I am sure I shall be eager to do so, my lord." 

Stannis took a deep breath, as though he too was steadied by the sea air. "When we are free of this." 

As though he had spoken it into existence, a distant trumpet blast made them both turn. Stannis pushed past Davos, leaning over the ramparts. He fumbled in his jerkin for the far-eye. 

"There is a wolf on that banner," he said. Davos knew enough to know that this was the emblem of House Stark, one of their allies, but Stannis sounded strangely disappointed. 

"Have they come to help us, then?" 

Stannis stared a moment or two longer. "That they have, I am sure." He tucked the far-eye back away in his jerkin. "I must go and greet him. He will not see Storm's End a shambles." 

Davos didn't think it was a shambles at all, but he went back to his rooms to brush his hair and change into some borrowed clothes. 

The gates of Storm's End creaked open for the first time in months as Lord Stark and his men rode in. Davos stayed well behind as Stannis spoke with him. He looked as grim as ever, though Lord Stark looked almost equally so. It was not a long conference before Stannis was stalking back to him. 

"He is continuing on south," he said to Davos. "But he has made Mace Tyrell give up some of his food stores, but I told him I won't have his men in my castle." 

Indeed, the Northmen stayed long enough to bring food into the castle, and then they were gone. The armies of Mace Tyrell dispersed later, and the Redwyne ships along with them. 

Stannis watched them leave, a satisfied look on his face, and Davos stood beside him, enjoying the expression.

It didn't occur to him until later that he could have used the commotion to look for his skin in areas of the castle he might ordinarily have been unable to access. 

**

Stannis had been under siege for so long that he had almost forgotten what it was like to be free and fed. The food was piled high on the tables in Storm's End's hall which had been bare for so long. He had to keep asking himself if it was a dream. 

He didn't eat much, so overwhelmed was he by the spread. Someone poured him a cup of wine. Stannis regarded it skeptically. He had always been so disgusted by Robert's overindulgence that he would barely have a sip himself at any other time. 

Now was a time to celebrate, however. He took a long sip of the Arbor gold. He didn't think it tasted much different from other wine, but men called it the best.

At his side, Davos gave him sly smile over the rim of his own goblet. The stirring within Stannis returned at the sight of him. He had first noticed it weeks ago and it had been growing ever since, like a flame growing stronger in a hearth. It had started with an admiration of Davos's kindness and selflessness, and how deep in him that goodness seemed to go. It had then extended, shamefully, to a lust for Davos's body. 

And then, somehow, he had begun to get an inkling that this lust might be returned. 

Davos seemed to be looking at him nearly as often as Stannis was looking at him. And it did not seem to be in Davos's nature to look away immediately, either. That had sent shivers running through Stannis, as well as a surety that an advance would not be unwelcome. He knew Davos would never make one; for a lowborn man to proposition a lord was probably unfathomable for him, as much as Stannis fantasized about being propositioned. 

_I am going to do something foolish tonight_ , he decided. _And I am going to enjoy it._

It wasn't the wine; he had wanted to do this for some time. He just thought perhaps with the pleasantly warm feeling the wine gave him he might be able to get over his own inhibitions. He knew he had them; perhaps Robert didn't think he knew, but Stannis knew that without some sort of push, he would never act on what he had now determined was a mutual attraction. 

He allowed his hand to brush against Davos's under the table and Davos gave him a raised eyebrow. 

Stannis set his goblet down and smiled. He did not smile easily, but he truly felt like doing so now. They were free of the siege at last. He did not really care one way or the other about Robert being king. There would be homage to give, surely, and he would have to deal with whatever ridiculousness Robert demanded of him. But all that was far in the future. 

Davos was here and now. 

"Davos, I have a mind to retire." He gave him a long, lingering look that he hoped would be interpreted correctly. 

As Stannis left the dais, he heard Davos's chair scrape back. 

He smiled. 

"Were you tired, too, Davos?" he asked as Davos joined him.

Davos smiled. "Not in the least." He slipped his arm through Stannis's. 

Stannis kissed him. He had wanted to make absolutely sure and Davos told him so in no uncertain terms. 

Their progress on the stairs was slow due to their kisses. Stannis was unaccustomed to kissing and he couldn't get enough of it. Davos's mouth opened easily under his, and his hand crept to the back of Stannis's neck. 

Somehow, they made it to Stannis's bedroom, and somehow they made it onto the bed. They did not stop kissing. How amazing it was to be able to kiss Davos, he thought, and that Davos wanted to kiss him. That their desires should intersect like this was incredibly satisfying. 

They slowed eventually, stymied by clothes they had to remove. Luckily, they had the same goal in mind. Davos was a pleasure to undress, helping Stannis when he fumbled. He truly didn't know what he was doing, but Davos was an enthusiastic guide, never letting Stannis feel as though he had no business here. 

"Tell me what you want, Davos," he murmured, his lips brushing Davos's bare shoulder. "I would give you everything you desire." 

Davos laughed and told him, exactly, in tantalizingly explicit terms where exactly he wanted Stannis's hands and his cock. 

When the time came that Stannis's knowledge of what to do ran out, Davos gingerly guided him onward. He knew what his goal was, of course, and Davos showed him what he was missing along the way. They moved together as though they had been meant to do this their whole lives; Stannis could not stop kissing him. Luckily, Davos seemed to feel the same way. Their coupling was like nothing Stannis had ever felt before, besides, perhaps, being at the prow of a ship cutting through the water, sea spray in his face. He tried to commit each detail to memory: the heavy sound of his breathing, Davos's cries as each roll of Stannis's hips hit someplace deep inside him that made him grab the sheets and Stannis's shoulders. 

At last, Davos was shuddering beneath him, his grip on Stannis's shoulders tightening. That brough Stannis's end, a release that seemed to weaken his whole body. Afterward, he could not imagine moving; he collapsed onto the bed and took Davos firmly in his arms. Davos snuggled closer, to Stannis's relief. He had had an image in his mind of Davos leaving, but that did not seem likely to happen. He closed his eyes. This day had been like something out of one of his half-starved fever dreams, but it was not a dream. Davos's warm body beside his was proof of that. He pressed one last clumsy kiss to Davos's temple, feeling sleep take him as he did so. 

**

Davos woke the next morning, blinking blearily. Where was he? Who was this next to him… Oh, yes. He smiled as the memories cam rushing back. 

He was in bed with Stannis, and it was Stannis's arm that was draped across his middle. He snuggled into Stannis's side, nuzzling at his neck, wanting to soak up more of his scent. The scent of his mate. The seal's sense of smell had often been useful in the course of his smuggling, even in human form, but nothing was quite so pleasurable as reveling in his mate's scent. 

"You're awake." Stannis kissed his forehead. If he regarded it as odd that Davos was sniffing him, he said nothing. 

"Have you been awake long?" 

"Yes. But watching you sleep is a pleasure." 

Davos laughed. "It cannot have been too pleasurable. I will show you what is truly pleasurable." He straddled him, glad of their continued nakedness. 

"I had thought to ring for breakfast." 

Davos smiled. He couldn't blame Stannis for wanting to eat after so many months of being starved. He surely had missed food over sex, especially if, as Davos suspected, he had not had sex before last night. 

He gave a mock sigh. "I suppose I will allow that, then." 

Stannis slipped from the bed and Davos watched him, taking pleasure in admiring his nude form for the first time from afar. He was painfully thin, which made his heart hurt, but Davos could see the hint of strong muscles and a tight arse as he watched him dress. And he would not have to worry about food again.

He smiled and settled back in the pile of blankets. Even if his role as knight had seemed unclear, he could easily envision himself remaining as Stannis's lover. That prospect excited him like he'd never imagined. In the few weeks they'd spent together, he could already tell Stannis would be a good and faithful lover. The only thing he had to fear was his missing skin. How could he tell Stannis his faithfulness was only as good as the restraint of whoever had his skin? 

He pushed the covers aside and reached for Stannis's robe, following him into the outer room, wanting to be near him. The robe smelled of Stannis, too, and he breathed deeply as he pulled it about his shoulders.

Stannis was fully dressed and speaking to the servant about the breakfast tray. He glanced up at Davos, giving him a half smile. Davos knew it would be all throughout the castle in an hour that he'd graced the lord's bed; if Stannis didn't mind this, neither did Davos. He tightened Stannis's robe about him and went to the window to watch the sea below. 

And there it was, as though he'd prayed for just this thing. 

His skin was neatly folded on the table by the window as though waiting for him. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

He pulled his hand back. The servant had gone and Stannis was beside him. "I found it in the cave below the castle. It is a marvelous specimen, though I know not how it got there." 

"Indeed." Davos's voice was faint to his own ears. "What do you plan to do with it?" 

"Nothing. No one has come forward to claim it, and it is too beautiful to… Well." He shrugged. "If it belongs to someone…" He kissed Davos's cheek, his jaw, his neck. "If it belongs to someone, it isn't mine." 

Davos's stomach churned. Stannis did not know what he had, which was a good thing. And Stannis was the one who had it, the best outcome of all the ones he'd considered. He had nothing to fear from another man coming to exert a claim over him. Perhaps the gods had intended this; perhaps they had meant for him to be with Stannis. 

He followed Stannis back into the bedroom, with considerably less weight on his shoulders than before. 

He would still have to figure out how to tell Stannis, of course, but that prospect was considerably easier when he didn't also have to worry about Stannis losing him to another man. He had a feeling, however, that Stannis would not have let him go so easily, even if another had attempted to claim him, and that was a very pleasant thought indeed.

**

The next few weeks were a heady mix of time spent in bed and time spent on the sea. Robert had sent his first instructions for Stannis following the lifting of the siege, and they were to build him a fleet and capture Dragonstone. This he felt capable of doing, especially with Davos's assistance. 

Davos knew everything there was to know about ships, and they talked ceaselessly of them on long walks by the sea. When the rain chased them inside, Davos sketched plans for ships with him. Davos was an unlettered man, but he had an almost-unnatural skill for freehand drawing what was in his head. Stannis marveled just watching the page fill with his ideas. 

And then, of course, when they were not working, they were invariably in bed. Stannis had never taken a lover before, but the time he spent with Davos in these few weeks more than made up for all the years he'd abstained. 

_This is why Robert likes it so much_ , he decided, as he lay with Davos curled at his side after he'd shown him what a pleasure it was to take each other in their mouths. 

The time was coming, though, for Davos's sacrifice. It had been Davos who had insisted it be soon, though a tight ball of guilt and worry settled in Stannis's stomach as he thought about hurting his lover. 

"Nonsense," Davos had muttered, nipping at his neck, when he'd brought it up. "We agreed on this. We can't change it now just because…" He let his hand, the hand that would soon be short its fingertips, trail up Stannis's side, making him shiver.

"We will be on even footing then," Stannis said. He caught the hand and kissed it. "You will owe me nothing, nor will I owe you." 

"Aye," Davos said, though there was something he still wasn't saying, Stannis could tell. 

Stannis was aware of the talk in the castle; what a cruel lord he was to take a man to bed and then take his fingertips. Thus, it was all the more important to him that Davos laid his hand on the block willingly, eyes unwavering from Stannis. 

"I'm ready," he said. 

Stannis's aim was true and the first thing he did after setting the cleaver down was take Davos in his arms. 

"Can you walk?" 

"Aye." Davos kissed his nose, but he gave no proof to back up his claims.

Stannis was not waiting for that; he swung him into his arms and carried him to bed.

"I can walk," Davos protested as he ducked his head into Stannis's neck to avoid hitting his head on the door of their bedroom. For it was theirs now, Stannis had to admit. 

"I am sure you can. But I do not wish to make you." He bent, carefully lying Davos on the bed.

Davos smiled fondly. "You are a good man, Stannis."

"I do not deserve you," Stannis said, marveling at him. 

Davos yawned. "When I am less tired, I will show you how much you do." 

**

The next few days were a muddle; Davos had been given the milk of the poppy and he spent much of the time asleep. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it was absurd that he should be in Stannis's bed while Stannis waited on him hand and foot. But he enjoyed it regardless. And it did help when the milk of the poppy made him nauseous. 

But there was something that nagged at the back of his mind.

He must tell Stannis what he was. Stannis was far too honest and honorable to be allowed to dwell in the dark for so long. 

"Stannis, I must—" he said suddenly. 

"Must what?" 

It was the middle of the night, but that was no deterrent to Davos. They were both still awake; Stannis had just helped him take some milk of the poppy. "There is something I must tell you before…"

"Before what?"

"Before you do anything drastic." He knew what he wanted, what he would have done had there not been the great gulf of distance between them in terms of their respective social statuses. And he knew Stannis was an honorable man. He would not be Davos's lover for long without intending to at least make an offer. 

"You can tell me anything," he murmured in Davos's ear. "Anything at all." 

"I know." Davos's voice shook. The words would not come. 

"I know you were a smuggler. There can be nothing worse." 

_It might be worse if you knew I was not even human_. 

Davos opened his mouth to say, but sleep and the milk of the poppy claimed him. 

**

Stannis continued caring for Davos as he recovered from his injuries, though he knew Davos would have bristled at the phrasing. He saw it as his duty, however, for he aimed to make Davos his husband, and this was precisely what husbands would do for each other. 

He thought long and hard about the right moment to ask him. He would wait until Davos was out of bed, and they were back walking on the sea wall. 

Whatever had made Davos so subdued would surely be washed away by a marriage proposal, that is, if Davos truly felt as Stannis did. As Stannis thought he did. He gave every indication of feeling that way, at least, and Stannis decided to do it on the first day Maester Cressen let Davos walk outside again. His hand was unbandaged and they walked arm in arm out to the cliff overlooking the sea. 

There was no more perfect moment than this. 

"Davos, there is something I must ask you." 

"What is it, Stannis?" Davos's eyes were still somewhat dulled. Perhaps he needed the milk of the poppy. He would see to it when they got back to the castle. 

He dropped to one knee before Davos and kissed his hand. "Will you marry me?" 

Davos's eyes went wide and then his face fell. "Oh, Stannis."

Stannis's heart sank. "You do not wish it."

"No." Davos blinked furiously. "I want nothing more than this." 

"Then what…" 

"There is something I must tell you first." Davos's voice had become grim and resigned. "Come inside and let me get it." 

Get… it? Stannis followed woodenly as Davos climbed the stairs back to Stannis's room, wondering what _it_ could possibly be. Davos went straight for the seal skin which had remained on the table by the window since they'd first discussed it.

"This is mine," he said quietly.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Stannis heard himself ask. 

Davos did not answer. He left the room and Stannis had no choice but to follow. They did not speak until they were in the cavern below the castle. Stannis had countless questions, but he suppressed them. He would wait until Davos was ready to explain, despite the intensity of the dread in the pit of his stomach. 

Davos was silent until he reached the water. 

Then he began to remove his clothes. 

"What are you—"

"You will see." Davos rose, the skin in his arms. "This is what I am."

Stannis stared blankly at him. 

"This is my skin," he said quietly.

The strange pieces suddenly clicked into place for Stannis. "You're a… selkie." He had heard enough of the stories throughout his life that there was no question of _belief_. The naked man standing before him with a seal skin was proof enough. 

"I am." 

"And I took your skin." Stannis felt the color drain from his face. 

"You did."

The entire happy existence Stannis thought he'd constructed for himself was crumbling before him. He had heard these parts of the stories as well, greedy, cruel men who took selkies' skins to force them into bed. Selkies who had no choice but to comply. 

"I…" He swallowed hard, blinking hard. "I will understand if you… if you…" His eyes grew hot and his vision clouded. "I release you, Davos, from all obligations. You may go. I will not seek to keep you here." 

Then he turned, unable to watch the man he had wanted to make his husband slip into the water and swim away.

There was a long pause, then he heard a rustle of skin, followed shortly by a splash. Stannis waited still longer before he climbed the stairs back into the castle alone.

**

Davos swam. He had hoped to take pleasure in riding the waves, but he felt none of the old excitement. Instead he felt only desperation to get as far away as possible from the pain. Why had he left? Had Stannis wanted him to leave? He could have taken his skin at any time after he'd found it, so why now? Usually, when his mind was in turmoil being a seal at sea calmed him, but not now. He paddled and glided, paddled and glided, not even sure where he meant to go.

It wasn't until he was halfway up the coast that he realized he was now missing the tip of his left front flipper. An appropriate reminder, then. 

He ate his fill of fish, though he hadn't truly been hungry. Living for weeks or months at a time in seal form was nothing new to him; he had done it often when he'd needed to escape a situation leaving no trace. He'd spent three months as a seal after Roro Uhoris had been executed by the Night's Watch until he'd finally crept ashore on Sweetsister and stolen some clothes from a house which had allowed him to get work on a ship to Braavos. 

This time, though, he did not think about how he was going to get clothes or more work, because all he really wanted to do was go back to Storm's End and Stannis. 

He pulled himself ashore to rest, not knowing where he was until he saw the Red Keep rising from the cliff above him, Baratheon banners flapping in the wind. Davos was so engrossed in watching them that he didn't notice the big male snap at him until it was too late. 

Pain exploded from his side. Davos barked back, snapping his jaws, but the other seal— _the_ seal, for he was not the other if Davos was not truly a seal—was undeterred. 

_I don't want your mates_ , Davos thought desperately. _I want to go home to mine._

Awkwardly, he lurched into the water, blood trailing after him. 

He was not a seal. He wasn't a human, either. He was a selkie. A selkie who wanted to marry a human. He had no reason to think Stannis would treat him with anything approaching how his father had treated his mother. 

Davos swam south, the saltwater stinging his wound. Home. He had to get home. 

**

The days without Davos were endlessly long. He snapped at Renly's first question about his whereabouts and after that Maester Cressen kept him away. He felt guilty for having frightened his brother, but he could not bear to admit his own humiliation. 

Not that he would have shared with a six-year-old that the only person he could convince into his bed was by treachery, even unknowing treachery. 

Robert would be delighted if he'd known. He would never tell him, of course. He would never let Stannis live it down. 

He threw himself into his work. Davos's detailed plans were enough to give the shipbuilders and most of his time was spent inspecting their progress. He knew it was doing nothing for his reputation that he barked at the men and argued over every detail. It also did not escape his notice that he most wanted to argue when a seal would pop its head out of the water by the shipyard and watch him. He did not think it was Davos (unless Davos had the power to change the color of his fur) but it made him think of him, as much as everything made him think of Davos.

When he wasn't overseeing the construction of his brother's fleet, he was stalking the shore, hoping for a wave to wash ashore and carry him away. Being dead seemed preferable to whatever he was now. 

Stannis sat on a likely rock, staring out at the horizon. 

There was a quiet _ark_ beside him. Stannis turned. There was a seal on the rocks beside him. 

It was a gray seal with white streaks on its pelt, very like Davos's. Stannis glanced down. It was missing the tip of its left front flipper. 

"I am sorry to have maimed you. It must be difficult to live this way with that injury." 

Even if this wasn't Davos, seals could not understand the common tongue of Westeros, so he'd hardly made a fool of himself. 

"I barely noticed it." 

Stannis shook his head. "Fool. You will catch your death of cold if you sit here with no clothes soaking wet." 

"My skin is warm enough." Davos slid closer, still wrapped in his sealskin. "I don't wear clothes in the sea." 

Regardless, Stannis unpinned his cloak and put it about Davos's shoulders. They sat in silence for a while before Davos spoke.

"Your brother's banners fly above the Red Keep." 

"You went that far?" 

"I was born there." Davos kept his eyes on the sea. "I was born a seal pup on the rocks of Blackwater Bay." 

He had not been expecting to hear that. "I didn't know that."

Davos laughed. "Of course you didn't." He kissed Stannis's cheek. "And I had made it there before I realized I did not want to live my mother's life. Because I had no need to." He paused. "My father took her skin, you see. She stole it back and left but she was afraid he would find her. So she stayed a seal and bore me and raised me on the rocks." 

Stannis's heart sank. "I am sorry. For what happened to you and to her and for…" He cleared his throat. "Anything I did that put you in mind of that." 

"You did nothing." Davos huddled closer, and Stannis put his arms around him, despite his dampness. "I only wanted you to know what I was before you married me." 

Stannis kissed his cheek. 

"I would like to go inside," Davos said. "I am getting a bit cold." 

Stannis's response was to stand and swing Davos into his arms, still wrapped in his cloak and seal skin. 

He cared remarkably little if anyone saw him. 

**

"I am not even going to ask what you managed to do here," Stannis asked when they were alone in his room. Davos was climbing into the bath that Stannis had called for and Stannis had caught his first glimpse of the healing gash in Davos's side. Even though he'd been in the water for days, a warm bath felt good on his human skin. 

"Ah, I was attacked by a seal. A real seal." The water reddened and Davos winced.

"Were you a man at the time?" 

"No. A seal. We were both seals, though I expect he's always a seal." 

Davos shrugged. "I was encroaching on his territory. I can't blame him."

"You seem rather relaxed about this." Stannis rose and began rummaging in a box. "I will put something on it. It is a miracle no shark attacked you as you bled throughout the Narrow Sea." 

Davos smiled. "I am fast."

Stannis said nothing to this, though his face was grim with worry. He rolled up his sleeves and knelt beside the tub to wash Davos's hair. 

And Davos told him everything: about living the first few years of his life as a seal, about being found by the smuggler Roro Uhoris after his mother's death, about how he'd used his skills to carve out a smuggling career for himself. 

"At least you will never have to do that again," Stannis told him firmly, as he rinsed Davos's hair. 

Nothing felt as good as Stannis toweling his hair dry, nothing except the fact that they went directly to the bed to make love. 

"You must let me see what I've missed at the docks," Davos said as they lay beside each other.

"I must?" Stannis said. "You have been attacked by a wild animal. You must rest. You have been swimming up and down the coast and were nearly eaten by a shark, the details of which you will not tell me." 

Davos yawned. "Perhaps I am a bit tired." He laid his hand on Stannis's arm and was rewarded by Stannis laying his own hand over Davos's. He mentally searched for something to worry him. There had always been something.

But there was nothing. He closed his eyes. His skin was close by, as was his mate. 

Outside, the sound of the waves lulled him to sleep.


End file.
